If you’re a rabid NFL fan, then you’ve likely perused dozens of mock drafts this past few months. For understandable reasons, most of these mocks end at the end of round one. What about the other six rounds? Well, mocking an entire seven round draft is no easy task, but you would think that more columnists and bloggers would at least take a crack at mocking the second round as well.
Lo and behold, SB Nation recently posted their latest two round mock draft. Let’s take a look at who they pegged as a potential second round pick for the Cleveland Browns:
37. Cleveland Browns: Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina. He’s a character risk, but he’s also precisely the type of three-tech DT that Dick Jauron needs for his 4-3 defense.
This is an interesting choice here for the Browns. On the one hand, SB Nation is exactly right by saying that Austin is the type of three-technique interior DT talent that new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron would be interested in acquiring. The fact that Shaun Rogers is no longer with the Browns also increases the likelihood that Cleveland will be look to use a high pick on a highly regarded DT in this year’s draft.
Furthermore, even though Austin has some question marks surrounding him from a character standpoint, it’s worth noting that these red flags aren’t necessarily all that alarming. Austin was suspended for the entire 2010 season due to an agent scandal. It’s not as if he failed drug tests, got in fights, or the like. Mike Lombardi recently wrote about Austin, claiming he believes the Tar Heels product has top ten talent. I’m not sure about that, but he definitely has first round talent, so if he is still on the board in round two when the Browns pick at No. 37, it’s not at all a stretch to think that Mike Holmgren would roll the dice on the young man. We’ll see! Only a week and a half or so away from the 2011 NFL Draft finally commencing after months of speculation.
For more coverage leading up to next week’s NFL Draft, check out the latest 2011 NFL Mock Draft at SBNation.com and visit our blog, Mocking The Draft.